Former Marijuana Prisoners And Activists Stage White House Event Urging Trump To Free People Still Incarcerated Over Cannabis

“Our goal was and is to persuade legislators from both parties to join the 70 percent of Americans who want full legalization.”

By Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment

A diverse coalition of marijuana reform advocates held an event outside the White House on Thursday in one of the latest efforts to push President Donald Trump to free those still incarcerated over cannabis.

The event, organized by the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), featured multiple speakers who shared stories about their personal experiences with the criminal justice system and their advocacy work, making the case to the administration that now is the time to put a definitive end to marijuana criminalization.

The rally was part of a “Cannabis Unity Week of Action” helmed by LPP that also involved congressional lawmakers who’ve spoken about their own efforts to advance reform on Capitol Hill.

“No matter which party is in power, I will continue to fight to free cannabis prisoners and legalize cannabis,” Jason Ortiz, director of strategic initiatives at LPP, told Marijuana Moment. “The time for panels and PowerPoints is long past and our coalition is committed to taking the fight directly to the decision makers to build a bipartisan coalition capable of actually passing meaningful policy.”

“Our goal was and is to persuade legislators from both parties to join the 70 percent of Americans who want full legalization,” he said. “Through our combined efforts we contacted every single member of Congress, and that’s the only way we are going to win. This was just the next step in our campaign to persuade this Congress and we invite every freedom loving American to join us as we march forward toward getting the job done and bringing all our cannabis prisoners home.”